Starting with Mac OS X Server 10.5 (named Leopard), Apple has changed some clauses in it's Operating System License allowing the virtualization of the Operating System using third party products; such as VMware Fusion, Parallels Desktop and so on; with the only limitation that the Virtual Machine must run on Apple-labeled Hardware and that every Virtual Machine have its own Operating System License (in other words, have one retail DVD or image for every Virtual Machine.)
- Semester 1mr. Mac's Virtual Existence -
- Semester 1mr. Mac's Virtual Existence Date
- Semester 1mr. Mac's Virtual Existence Key
- Semester 1mr. Mac's Virtual Existence Software
Correct your going to have to use a system image of your mac mini to restore it to a virtual machine. So a bare mac OS X VM should be created then connect your time machine drive ( or another system imaging software that runs on mac such as acronis) and restore the image of your mac mini. Ahhhhh, back-to-school. The smell of freshly sharpened pencils. Blank notebooks and backpacks free of bottom-of-the-bag schmutz. New books with crackling spines. And, most importantly, your very own computer. Owning your own computer is a huge investment. It’ll hold all of your schoolwork, your photos, your browsing history. You don’t have to worry about clearing the.
KB 2005793 is available for information on restrictions in creating a virtual machine with the Apple Operating System in the case of VMware products (like Fusion or vSphere/ESXi.)
For applications requiring enhanced capacity, VMware ESXi can be installed on the MacPro hardware model; which is not designed for Rack use and is power hungry. If you are in a situation that requires several MacPros, additional components for better performance, and server consolidation you might need to consider expanding your datacenter budger.
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The OS X Server Operating System provides several services that can be managed by other Operating Systems that do not have the restrictions described above, such as any Linux Distribution or an Open Source BSD system, both supported in vSphere[1].
Semester 1mr. Mac's Virtual Existence Date
This article lists some Apple-oriented services that can be managed under other compatible non-Apple Operating Systems:
AFP: The Apple Filing Protocol is used for File Sharing between an OS X Server and several OS X Workstations, using Bonjour discovery. This can be achieved using Netatalk Service and Avahi Daemon. Even you can set up a TimeMachine server too with these tools.
Calendar and Contacts Server: These services are used for a centralized Calendar and Contacts tool using the CalDAV and CardDav protocol respectively. There are several Open Source servers that can handle both protocols and Apple provides the Calendar and Contacts Server under the Apache Open Source license.
Messages Server: This server is used for Instant Messaging; you can set up a Jabber server (the same protocol used for Google Talk) to accomplish the same task.
NetBook, NetInstall, NetRestore: These services are to simplify the desktop administration, configuring them to Boot from Network, Install from Network and Backup/Restore from Network. In this particular case, the services are for Apple computers only. If you have PCs in your office, the service should be set up for the Operating System that you run on them. If they run Linux for example, you can use Linux Terminal Server Project.
Open Directory: This service provides LDAP functions, in the Free Software World you can choose between a plain Open LDAP service or services like 389 Directory Server.
There are other services provided, most of them are Internet Standard based and there are different alternatives and approaches in not-Apple Operating Systems.
Semester 1mr. Mac's Virtual Existence Key
Semester 1mr. Mac's Virtual Existence Software
If the budget and license restrictions are a concern; you can take a look at the Open Source world for alternatives; after all, Mac OS X is based on Open Source technologies.
1: vSphere fully supports some Linux Enterprise distributions using VMware Tools, but any Linux Distribution or BSD are partially supported with generic virtualization drivers.
Written by César Yáñez Fernández